Inside The Archives

Russell Hoban is known for his classic series about Frances, a badger who is a picky eater with a huge aversion to eggs (Bread and Jam for Frances). In this 1959 letter, he expresses his gratitude to Ursula Nordstrom, head of the U.S. Harper Children’s division, for being his publishing partner and shares a special moment in which he truly felt he was an author: “Let me tell you when I first knew what a lucky thing I had at Harper’s: I had ordered some books. When they came in the mail, I opened the box, and there was an invoice on top of the books. Typed on it were the words, AUTHOR’S ACCOUNT. Then I knew, and could feel it as a real and solid part of my life, that I had a PUBLISHER, that I was an AUTHOR, that there was a place to take my book ideas, and a lady who would look at the words and pictures and see what could be done, an EDITOR, and her name was URSULA NORDSTROM.”

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